Welcome to the Grocery Trader’s May issue. In these pages we tempt the heavens to open and the rain to come down on us with our Barbeque feature. We also have our quarterly Back of Store feature with the latest news about warehousing and logistics for grocery supply chains. We step boldly into the exciting world of Multichannel Retailing. And we bring you a host of other stories from the suppliers who help Britain’s multiple grocers keep the shoppers coming back for more.
Who’s bold enough to barbeque in Britain? Readers with long memories will recall the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh standing grimly in the rain on the Royal Barge. As a nation we know all too well about barbecues on a rainy day under the shelter of a gazebo, or a marquee if you’re posh, with everyone wearing anoraks and wellies. After all, we’re in Britain and it’s summer time! But we mustn’t be cynical. As we went to press one forecaster was saying May was set to see some very decent weather. So assuming he’s right, that’s a sunny Early May Bank Holiday and Late Bank Holiday then.
As QI fans will know, the May Day tradition didn’t start with the Soviets and parades in Red Square, it’s rooted in our pre-Christian culture, with maypole dancing and all that. Of course now millions of Brits prefer to spend Mayday and other Bank Holidays in that twenty first century form of worship, shopping. Meanwhile, as the Back of Store feature reminds us, Britain’s retail warehouses keep on working calmly and the supply chains keep on moving, bank holiday or working day. We bring you a selection of stories from the equipment and service suppliers who help keep them keep moving.
Whatever happens to the weather or the economy, we still love to snack. The crisps, nuts & snacks category is up 7.5% in value to £2.15bn in the UK, with crisps worth £927m and growing almost 6%. In a marketplace dominated by giant, multinational corporates, there’s still room for a new player offering something new, unique and different. As featured on our front cover, Ten Acre is a new range of premium, hand cooked crisps setting out not only to put the fun back into snacking, but to allow consumers with certain dietary requirements to enjoy tasty crisps. Produced by Yumsh Snacks in the UK, Ten Acre offer eight delicious flavours that are all gluten, dairy and MSG free as well as being Kosher, Halal and Vegan.
Have a good month, and may the sun shine on you!
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